National Guard enlisted female Soldiers graduate from U.S. Army Ranger School

Photo By Staff Sgt. Brian Calhoun | U.S. Army Sgt. Danielle Farber, Pennsylvania National Guard 166th Regional Training Institute Medical Battalion Training Site instructor, and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jessica Smiley, South Carolina National Guard military police non-commissioned officer currently serving with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, graduate U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, Dec. 13, 2019, as the first National Guard enlisted females to complete the leadership school. Smiley and Farber completed the mentally and physically challenging school, which focused on squad and platoon operations designed to prepare Soldiers to be better trained, more capable, and more resilient leaders. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Brian Calhoun, South Carolina National Guard)  

FORT BENNING, GA, UNITED STATES

12.13.2019

Story by Sgt. Brian Calhoun 

South Carolina National Guard

FORT BENNING, Ga -- Two U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers from the South Carolina and Pennsylvania National Guard graduated U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, Dec. 13, 2019, becoming the first National Guard enlisted females to complete the leadership school.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jessica Smiley, South Carolina National Guard military police non-commissioned officer currently serving with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and U.S. Army Sgt. Danielle Farber, Pennsylvania National Guard 166th Regional Training Institute Medical Battalion Training Site instructor, completed the mentally and physically challenging school, which focused on squad and platoon operations designed to prepare Soldiers to be better trained, more capable, and more resilient leaders.

"My mindset going into this was to leave 100 percent on the table and never have a regret or look back and say, 'I should have pushed harder or I should have done something different,'" said Smiley. "My mindset today is that I did just that. I gave 100 percent. I did everything that I could and now here I am."

As the first female National Guard enlisted Soldiers to graduate from the school, Smiley and Farber join a small group of women who have earned a Ranger tab since the Pentagon lifted the ban on women serving in combat arms positions, to include U.S. Army Capt. Kristen Griest and U.S. Army 1st Lt. Shaye Haver who were first women to ever successfully complete the school in 2015, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Emily Lilly who was the first female National Guard officer to graduate in 2018, and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Amanda Kelley who was the first enlisted Soldier to graduate, also in 2018. However, they do not see graduating Ranger school as an accomplishment only they are capable of achieving.

"I don't think it's charting a course for other women because it's something that we all have in us. We just haven't been allowed to do it...There's many women out there who are completely capable of doing it," said Smiley. "Do it...Put in the hard work, put in the dedication to accomplish the goal."

Both Smiley and Farber said, this accomplishment was something that took years of training and did not come without its own setbacks. Farber explained, she has been working toward this goal since 2016 when she first tried for the Pennsylvania Ranger/Sapper state assessment program and was not selected. She did not allow that to stop her and she tried again in 2018, where she was selected for the program, along with approximately 10 other Soldiers, and a year later, left for Ranger school.

"Train hard for it," said Farber. "Come into it knowing you're going to be doing things that every other male that comes through here has to do. Don't come through here and expect any sort of special treatment because it won't happen."

Now that they have graduated the challenging course and have earned their Ranger tab, both Smiley and Farber hope to use the skills they've gained and apply it to their leadership style and potentially benefit the Soldiers they work with and lead.

"This day to me is not the end of the school, but is the beginning of the new chapter in my career, not only for myself, but for future Soldiers," said Smiley.

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Russ Vickery, South Carolina National Guard command sergeant major, explained, the accomplishment of Smiley and Farber graduating Ranger School is significant to the National Guard and he is proud of what they have achieved.

“It is a big deal to be the first enlisted females in the National Guard graduating Ranger School… It’s groundbreaking,” said Vickery. “We always tell [Soldiers] that they can do it. Physical size is not the limitation, it’s the amount of heart and soul that a Soldier brings.”

• Date Taken: 12.13.2019
• Date Posted: 12.13.2019 16:52
• Story ID: 355678
• Location: FORT BENNING, GA, US